Jar of Hearts
by Elysia 'Saiko' Ghosry
Summary: Sequel to 'Harder Then You Know'. Marik returns to visit his friend Ryou but something is very wrong with him. Not to mention that Bakura wants him back! Can Marik help his friend fight his demons or will Bakura suceed in getting him back? Flames Welcome.


I'm back with the sequel! Yay! Aren't you guys just thrilled to know that I'm still depressed and now I'm thinking of suicide? Oh joy. I don't have any reason, though…It's just what's going through my head… Anyway, short A/N because I'm tired…

_**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi. 'Jar of Hearts' belongs to Christina Perri.**_

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><p>Marik stood in the darkness, shivering while the snow fell around him silently. The harsh wind blew lashes of cold air at him. He pulled his sleeves over his hands in an attempt to keep warm. Few people walked the streets at this time in the night but Marik had a date and he planned to keep it. It had only been a few minutes since the snow started but Marik felt like it had been hours. Finally, he noticed the familiar white haired boy that ran towards him with a smile on his face. He grinned, despite his mood and the rotten weather.<br>"Marik! I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't find my jacket!" Ryou said as he embraced Marik in a tight hug.  
>"Don't worry, Ryou. I wasn't here for very long anyway."<br>"I still feel bad. I'm the one that invited you here and I can't even make it in time to pick you up from the train station." Ryou looked up at him with his puppy dog brown eyes. Marik just smiled. Ryou blinked and stepped back.  
>"Something's wrong." He said knowingly. Marik sighed.<br>"No… Not really… Just… I wish I didn't have to come back here. I mean, I'd come back to visit you any day but…" He left the sentence hanging. Ryou nodded.  
>"I understand."<br>They stood in silence for a moment before,  
>"Well, no point dwelling on the past is there?" Ryou said cheerfully as he grabbed two of Marik's three overnight bags. Marik smiled, unable to not be cheerful in Ryou's presence. When Ryou's around, the world seems to light up a whole lot more. Marik wished he was around more often. It's hard not to get addicted to the happiness. Marik lifted up his last bag and followed the cheerful teen. While they walked towards Ryou's house, Ryou told Marik all about the past year that he had missed. Marik was slightly interested but his mind just wouldn't comprehend most of the stuff that Ryou said. Thank god Ryou only wanted someone to talk to and not someone to answer his questions. Marik turned his head to look down an abandoned store. He remembered shopping there when he was a little younger. The shop owner was a nice man. Always kind to Marik and always gave him a free apple or pear when he went there. Suddenly, Ryou stopped talking and walking and, because Marik wasn't paying attention to where he was going, he bumped straight into him. He stumbled.<br>"Why are we stopping?" Marik asked before he turned to Ryou. When he turned around, he saw the reason why. Standing, partially hidden in the darkness, was Bakura.

_**I know I can't take one more step towards you  
>'Cause all that's waiting is regret<strong>_

The three stood on the road not moving. The harsh wind from earlier picked up, whipping Marik, Ryou and Bakura's hair around their faces. Ryou made a grab for his hair but failed to collect it all. Marik waited to see if Bakura would move, speak or just fall to the ground dead, whatever, as long as he went first. Bakura stared coldly at Marik, waiting for him to make the first move. Marik almost gasped as he noticed that, hidden by Bakura's massive black cloak, Malik was with Bakura. Ryou frowned.  
>"Bakura. Get out of the way. We need to get through."<br>Bakura shot daggers with his eyes at Ryou before turning back to Marik He smiled a greedy, evil smile.

_**And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore  
>You lost the love I loved the most<strong>_

"Marik. Welcome back."  
>"Hello."<br>"Marik, you don't have to answer him if you don't want to."  
>"Its okay, Ryou. I do."<br>"Yes, Ryou. Leave us to talk grown-up stuff whilst you go play with your stuffed toys and make up a pretend tea party like you did last night."  
>"You don't get to talk to him like that! Your fights with me, not him."<br>"Oh? Really? You know, you've been away for just over a year. You'd be surprised at the new habits Ryou has picked up while you were gone."  
>"What do you mean?"<br>"Please, Bakura! I beg you! Don't tell him!"  
>"Ryou, if you were begging, you'd be on your hands and knees, groveling at my feet."<br>"You've got your new boy toy to do that. You don't need Ryou. Unless, you want to use him too, just like you used me. Or maybe you're just bored of Malik now, and you're hoping for a new boy toy."  
>"Actually, I don't want Ryou. To be honest with you, I'm here for you."<p>

_**I've learned to live half alive  
>And now you want me one more time<strong>_

Marik blinked, confused. Bakura, the same Bakura that broke his heart and shattered his world, wanted him back. Of course, this had to be a lie. It was coming from Bakura. He wasn't being serious…was he?  
>"You're joking!"<br>"I'm serious."  
>Marik took a small step back. Ryou took a step forward.<br>"Go away, Bakura. Marik's not here for you. He doesn't want you!" He said, defiantly. Bakura chuckled.  
>"You say that because in your little mind, you believe that Marik wants you. You invited him here in hopes that you might hook up and he'll ask you to come live with him." Bakura teased. Ryou gasped and shook his head.<br>"Don't deny it, Ryou. It's clear on your face. And sorry to burst your bubble, but, life isn't a fairy tale. You won't get to live happily ever after with your one true love." Bakura chuckled again. Ryou turned to Marik, his eyes shining with unshed tears.  
>"Marik…I'm sorry…" He said before dropping Marik's bags and running off into the night.<br>"Ryou! Come back!" Marik yelled after him, dropping the bag he was carrying. But Ryou was gone.

_**And who do you think you are  
>Running around leaving scars<br>Collecting your jar of hearts  
>And tearing love apart<strong>_

"Look what you've done, Bakura! It's not enough that you had to ruin my life, but now you've gone and destroyed his. You disgust me." Marik screamed at the white haired male. Bakura shrugged.  
>"He was in my way. I had to get rid of him somehow, didn't I?"<br>"What do you mean; you had to get rid of him? Whatever you do, you're not getting me back, so get that out of your head." Marik, whose anger had skyrocketed, lifted his three bags.  
>"Where do you think you're going?" Bakura asked, moving closer towards Marik. Marik ignored him and started for Ryou's house. He sped up when he realized that Bakura and Malik, still half hidden, were following him. He continued to speed up until he finally made it to the safety of Ryou's front gate. He ran up to the front door and pushed it open. Surprisingly, it gave way, and allowed Marik inside. Locking the door quickly behind him, he threw his bags onto the floor and leant against the locked front door. Suddenly, someone knocked.<br>"Marik, I know you're there. I will make you mine again, just you wait and see." Bakura called through the door. Marik heard a gasp and looked up to see Ryou coming down the stair case.  
>"And don't worry, Marik. After you see the way Ryou is now, you'll be begging to have me back." Bakura said before leaving.<p>

_**You're gonna catch a cold  
>From the ice inside your soul<br>So don't come back for me  
>Who do you think you are<strong>_

Ryou cocked his head to the side.  
>"Who was that?" He asked. Marik blinked, confused.<br>"That was Bakura. He was just insulting you a few minutes ago."  
>Ryou blinked and smiled.<br>"Silly Marik! Bakura killed himself ages ago!" Ryou came over to Marik and hugged him. "Unless you're having nightmares about him again. Here, Ryou will make it all better."  
>And without warning, Ryou kissed Marik. Marik froze, unsure what to do. Ryou pulled away.<br>"Marik? A-are you okay? Do you want to sleep?" He asked. Marik opened his mouth to speak but was silenced with a finger.  
>"Well, of course you want to sleep. You've just had a tiring trip all the way here! Go to sleep, love. I'll take care of the bags."<br>Marik frowned, still confused at Ryou's mood and speech, but decided to stand up and go to sleep.  
>"Um, Ryou?"<br>"Yes, dear?"  
>"Where do I sleep?"<br>Ryou smiled to himself.  
>"Of course! You've been at work for so long that you've forgotten where our bedroom is! Its okay, sweetheart. I'll show you where it is right now." Ryou lifted the bags and started back up the staircase. Marik followed him until they got to 'their' bedroom.<br>"Here you are! I'll join you shortly. I just need to do a bit of cleaning up. You know how it is when the kids get home from a party." Ryou said, laughing.  
>Suddenly, Marik understood.<br>"Ryou! Snap out of it! We're not a couple. We don't have kids. I don't work anywhere and I don't live here with you. Stop lying to yourself and see the truth." He said, gripping Ryou by the shoulders. Ryou sighed.  
>"Okay. I'm sorry I lied to you." He said. Marik was about to sigh with relief when…<br>"The kids didn't ruin the house. It's just that, yesterday my test results came back and I was so excited! I really wanted to change the house for the big surprise!" Ryou paused and grinned at Marik before wrapping himself around him.  
>"I'm pregnant!"<br>It was then and there that Marik had realized that Ryou had gone completely insane.

_**I hear you're asking all around  
>If I'm anywhere to be found<strong>_

Marik woke early the next morning lying curled up in Rou's bed. Ryou wasn't with him. He sat up and breathed in, stretching his arms above his head. He looked around the room. It was painted white to make the room seem bigger then it was. There was a small table in the corner covered in multiple tea cups and teapots. There was Barbie dolls scattered around the table. Some had drawn on faces. There was only one male doll there. He was upside down so Marik couldn't see his face properly. Marik stood up and walked over to the table. He picked up the Male doll…and gasped. Taped to the dolls face was a photo cut out of his face. Ryou made the doll him. Marik dropped the doll and started for the stairs. As he reached them, someone coughed from behind him. He turned and, standing in the corner hidden by the only shadows in the house, was Bakura.  
>"Have you seen his doll collection yet? My favorite is the Marik lookalike. Funny…It looks just like you." He said. Marik looked away.<br>"Wait until you see his kitchen. It's the cleanest part of the house, thanks to me." Bakura said before leaving. Marik went downstairs and followed the sound of Ryou's singing until he came to the kitchen. Bakura was right. It was the cleanest room so far. All the pots were stacked neatly in their cupboards and all the food was packed away properly. Ryou was at the stove, flipping a pancake. He stopped when Marik walked in. He rushed up to him and hugged him.  
>"Marik! You're awake. I would've woken you up sooner but you needed your rest." Ryou said. He reached up for a kiss but Marik pulled away, mumbling about how tired he was. Ryou nodded and smiled.<br>"Sit! I made your favorite breakfast."  
>Marik sat down at the clean table in the dining room as Ryou pulled out a plate of pancakes for him.<br>"Enjoy!" Ryou said and went back into the kitchen. Bakura walked into the room from the kitchen shortly afterward.  
>"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me instead? His sanity goes out the window most of the time he's in this house. Rarely does his sanity come back to him whilst inside, however, when he goes outside, his sanity returns. Strange isn't it? With me, you won't have to put up with that." He said.<br>Marik clenched is fists.

_**But I have grown too strong  
>To ever fall back in your arms<strong>_

"Get out, Bakura. I don't care about his sanity or whatnot. That can easily be fixed. What can't be fixed are his innocence and his heart, two things you destroyed last night with your little 'I still love you' stunt. Just end it, Bakura. I'm too strong to fall for you again. I won't make the same mistake twice." Marik growled at the pale man. He stood up, forgetting his breakfast, and left the room. He entered the kitchen to find Ryou sitting on the bench holding a large, sharp knife across his left wrist, positioned as if he was about to slice open his wrist. Marik ran over to him and grabbed his hand holding the knife. Ryou went rigid under his touch. He turned to Marik slowly.  
>"Oh, Marik. What are you doing here? You don't need to see this; I'm just… testing its edge." Ryou said, a slight cheerfulness in his voice despite the tears running down his face. Marik pulled the knife out of Ryou's hand and threw it onto the floor. He gripped Ryou tightly while Ryou cried.<br>"I'm sorry, Marik. I thought I could do it but it's just too much. I thought I'd be alright when you left, but then you did, and I felt as if I had died. I… I was just trying to get rid of the pain." Ryou whispered, clinging to Marik. Marik realized that his sanity must have returned.  
>"It's okay. I'm here now. It going to be fine. I promise, everything will get better. I won't let anything happen to you anymore." Marik vowed, looking up as Bakura entered the room smirking. <em><strong><br>**_"I didn't want you to leave. I wanted you to stay with me. I understood that you had to but I just wished that you didn't have to leave and there was some way you could stay. I would've given anything just to have you here. Marik, you probably already know this but, you need to hear it from my lips." Ryou paused.  
>"I love you, Marik"<br>Marik smiled sadly and hugged him tighter. He didn't know what to say. His mind went blank. He thought about telling the younger one that he was just being silly, but he could hear in Ryou's voice, the amount of love and emotions he had put into those four words. It sounded as if he was offering his heart and soul to Marik, not just his feelings. But Marik wasn't sure if he was capable of feeling anymore. All he could feel in him was anger, hate, sadness. No love. No Lust. Nothing. It was as if he was a half empty shell, half filled with the dark emotions, missing the light ones. Marik fought to find an answer to how to respond to this unfamiliar emotion. But he could come up with none. Instead, he just stood there, arms wrapped around the pale man that wept silently, partly because of the darker male's non-responsiveness to his confession.

_**And I've learned to live half alive  
>And now you want me one more time<strong>_

Bakura rolled his eyes.  
>"Touching, really. But you don't want him. Admit it, you want me. Tell him, Marik. Tell him what you felt when he told you he loved you." He commanded, stepping closer to the pair. Marik turned to him.<br>"Stop it Bakura. You don't have to do this."  
>"Oh, but I do. I want to see the look on Ryou's face when you say that you don't return his feelings. I want to see the look on your face when he finally cut's himself for the last time. I want to see you struggle to stop his bleeding. I want to see it all." Bakura said, smiling a little too insanely. Marik quickly grabbed one of Ryou's arms and looked at him wrist. There were faint white scars across his wrist. Scars made by a knife. He looked to Ryou's face.<br>"I'm so, so sorry, Marik. I tried; really I did, but…" Ryou broke off as he began to cry again.

_**And who do you think you are  
>Running around leaving scars<br>Collecting your jar of hearts  
>And tearing love apart<br>You're gonna catch a cold  
>From the ice inside your soul<br>So don't come back for me  
>Who do you think you are<strong>_

Marik closed his eyes, wishing that he wasn't in this situation. Bakura finally was close enough to touch, but he wasn't touching the pair. Instead he looked down at the knife.  
>"If you didn't leave the dining room that early, Ryou might not have been alive anymore. Therefore one of the many obstacles I need to defeat would have been gone and you would have been closer to being mine." He said. Marik glared at him.<br>"That's not a good thing."  
>"It is for me."<br>"That's because you're sick and twisted." Marik turned to face Bakura, letting go of Ryou in the progress.

_**And it took so long just to feel alright**_

Bakura glanced at the knife again. Then back up to Marik.  
>"Let's make a deal. I'll let Ryou live a free, happy and sane life, and you come back with me. You know you want to say yes. I know that you still love me. You may have buried it for Ryou's sake, but it's there."<p>

_**Remember how to put back the light in my eyes**_

Marik laughed.  
>"You know, for once, you're right. I <em>do<em> still love you. And I _did_ bury that feeling. But not because of Ryou. I buried that feeling because it disgusts me. How could I love someone like you now? I may feel lust, but I'm very sure now that the feeling of love that I have for you, it isn't for the Bakura that's standing in front of me right now. It was for the Bakura that I first met and dated. The Bakura that cared and would never cheat. Wherever that Bakura is, my love for him has gone with him. But I know that I definably feel nothing for the Bakura you are today."  
>Bakura glared at Marik before glancing at the knife again.<p>

_**I wished I had missed the first time that we kissed**_

Suddenly, Bakura picked up the knife that Marik had dropped. He held it tightly in his hand.  
>"If you don't come to me now, I'll stab this into my heart." He said.<p>

_**Cause you broke all your promises**_

Marik frowned in disbelief.  
>"Put the knife down, Bakura. Don't do this. I'm not worth it."<br>Bakura glanced at the knife, but did not drop it.

_**And now you're back**_

Marik was about to let go of Ryou and make a grab for the knife in Bakura's hand when Malik walked in.  
>"What the hell? Bakura! What are you doing?" He yelled. Bakura glanced at him and smirked.<br>"Goodbye, Malik. It's been fun, but I really must be going." He said, sounding the slightest bit psychotic. Malik started to laughed but then stopped.  
>"No… You can't be serious. This is madness, Bakura, madness!"<br>But Bakura wasn't paying attention to anything else except for the blade in his hand. He was still for so long; they all began to believe he'd changed his mind.  
>And then, he moved.<p>

_**You don't get to get me back**_

Bakura plunged the knife deep into his chest. Malik cried out as Bakura slowly slumped to the ground.  
>"I'll see you in hell." He whispered to Marik before lying lifeless on the stone floor. His dark red blood surrounded his limp, white body. Ryou covered his mouth with a hand, stopping any screams from escaping. Malik leant over Bakura and closed his glassy brown eyes, never to be opened again. He glared at Marik and Ryou before standing up and walking off, leaving Bakura's dead body behind.<br>Marik stared in horror at his once-alive-ex-boyfriend. His logical part of his brain was telling him that Bakura was really dead and he wasn't coming back. Yet, part of him wanted to believe that Bakura was going to sit up right now and say "Boo! I was just joking, I'm not actually dead." But he knew that that wasn't going to happen. And he also knew that while he paid attention to Ryou's sanity, he forgot all about his own.  
>Bakura, both sides of him, insane and sane, was well and truly gone.<br>"Is… Is he dead? Is it over?" Ryou asked timidly. Marik turned to him and smiled a slow sad smile.  
>"Yes, Ryou. It's finally over."<p>

_**And who do you think you are  
>Running around leaving scars<br>Collecting your jar of hearts  
>And tearing love apart<br>You're gonna catch a cold  
>From the ice inside your soul<br>So don't come back for me  
>Don't come back at all<strong>_

Few people attended his funeral and even fewer to his wake. Malik was there. He placed a small bouquet of flowers on the grave. They were dark crimson roses, much like the colour of his blood. And of course Marik and Ryou were there, not for Bakura himself, but purely to make sure that he was never coming back to haunt their lives again. Twice was enough Marik could handle, he wasn't entirely up to round three yet. They didn't place anything on the grave. The few friends that showed up to pay their respects spoke to Marik about him. Some said good things, some said bad. Marik rather he heard the good things, because the bad ones reminded him about the past year.

_**And who do you think you are  
>Running around leaving scars<br>Collecting your jar of hearts  
>And tearing love apart<br>You're gonna catch a cold  
>From the ice inside your soul<br>So don't come back for me  
>Don't come back at all<strong>_

The stain remained in the kitchen of Ryou's house, a constant reminder of Bakura's fatal act. A constant reminder to Marik of Bakura's last words. A constant reminder that he was finally gone. A constant reminder that they could move on.

_**Who do you think you are**_

Malik left town the day after the funeral. No one saw or heard of him leaving, he just kind of… disappeared.

_**Who do you think you are**_

Marik went through Bakura's house and took back the things that used to belong to him.  
>Then, they burned down his house.<p>

_**Who do you think you are**_

When Ryou and Marik returned home, they both broke down.  
>Marik stroked the younger males white hair and murmured soothing words to him while they cried. They're nightmares were finally over. The man that haunted Marik's dreams had been destroyed. Finally, Marik felt able to continue to live his life. Start anew. Starting with…<br>"Ryou? Come live with me. Leave this dump and move up with me. We'll both be much happier."  
>Ryou lifted his head up to look at the tanned male. His eyes were wide and his tear stained face was fighting not to smile.<br>"R-really?"  
>"Really."<br>Ryou beamed and hugged Marik tightly, whispering his thanks repeatedly. Marik smiled.  
>"I love you, Marik. So much." Ryou said, nuzzling Marik's neck. Before, Marik didn't know how to respond. Before, Marik would have just smiled and shrugged it off. Before, Marik thought he had lost all ability to care, all ability to love. He thought that he was only capable of hate and anger. And sadness.<br>But now, Marik knew the answer to that question. Marik knew the answer to all of his questions. And he knew exactly how to respond.  
>"I love you too, Ryou. More then you'll ever know."<br>And then they kissed, a soft pash that they both would cherish forever. Their first proper kiss. Marik smiled when they broke apart while Ryou giggled. After a while, Ryou stood up. He looked down at Marik and beamed, positively radiating happiness.  
>"How about a nice plate of pancakes?"<p>

* * *

><p>Ha-ha! There's a joke at the end of that! Did you get it? Nevermind…<p>

I know, I made Bakura a bit of an asshole… and then I killed him. Lovely, aren't I? Wait; does that make me the asshole?  
>Let's just blame this on my emotions.<p>

I've started another Thiefshipping (one less depressing and more… Thiefshippingness) but I'm not sure when I'll be able to post it.

I should let you all know that I won't really be able to get onto until the end of September. I'm kinda banned.

So, my lovely best friend is posting my chapters for me.

Trust me, while I'm unable to get onto the internet, I'll be writing much more :D

BE HAPPY EVERYONE! DON'T BE LIKE ME!

~Cinder Avery Grey


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